Weak WR market leaves the Browns with no choice in 2026 NFL Draft

The 2025 Cleveland Browns can be summed up easily enough — elite defense, elementary school offense. The dearth of talent on that side of the ball was a significant problem all year long, as the offense could never seem to get it going with any kind of consistency. There are many factors to this, including coaching, and we all know how that went for Kevin Stefanski and Co.

For all the flak Shedeur Sanders took for politely requesting the Ravens and Eagles not draft him due to the presence of established franchise QBs, his situation as a fifth-round pick could hardly have played out any better. He played well enough down the stretch to justify an extended look, while also removing the Browns from the Fernando Mendoza sweepstakes.

Couple that with a weak market for free-agent and draft-eligible signal-callers, and voila, Shedeur Sanders is in the driver's seat to be the Browns' QB in 2026.

For Sanders — or any other QB — to be successful, the Browns need to make significant upgrades on offense. While it's hardly the only hole on the roster, the wide receiver position represents the most glaring one.

Browns could be forced into obvious move at No. 6 overall

Ian Hartitz of The Fantasy Life Show succinctly summarized this year's free agent WR crop, and suffice it to say the takeaway for the Browns is simple: look to the draft.

With headliners like George Pickens, Alec Pierce, and Rashid Shaheed unlikely to shake free from their respective franchises, the Browns would be best served drafting a wideout early in the 2026 NFL Draft. Even if one of the top names were to become available, it's hard to imagine Cleveland being a major player for that kind of price tag.

This is the part where I must remind you that the Browns will be staring down the barrel of an $80 million cap hit for Deshaun Watson in 2026. Even though they will likely be forced to restructure his contract to fill out the roster, that just prolongs the suffering to future seasons.

In short: the Browns need young, cheap (by NFL standards) talent. Where can you find that? The NFL Draft, of course.

There has already been plenty of smoke surrounding the possibility of Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson being the pick at No. 6, but keep an eye on Ohio State's Carnell Tate and USC's Makai Lemon as well. Scouts are enamored with the troika, almost unanimously placing them all in the first round in various mock drafts.

The Browns' new head coach Todd Monken said it himself in his introductory presser that he was enticed by the prospect of building the offense from the ground up in Cleveland. Nabbing one of the draft's top receivers, a go-to target who can make plays for Shedeur Sanders or anyone else under center, should be priority No. 1.